By Zach Wilt, on February 3rd, 2012  Well the Ravens have their man. The team announced on Thursday afternoon that Don Martindale will be Baltimore’s new linebackers coach. Martindale replaces Dean Pees who was promoted to defensive coordinator after Chuck Pagano left to coach the Colts.
We all should have known that Jack Del Rio wouldn’t reunite with the Ravens. I cited “different eras” as my reasoning when first discussing candidates to replace Pagano. Del Rio came from the Brian Billick era Ravens, a team and method that the front office and ownership have decided to put behind them.
Martindale comes to Baltimore with 18 years of coaching experience in both the NFL and at the college level. Not surprisingly, he was on Jack Harbaugh’s coaching staff at Western Kentucky.
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By BSR Staff, on February 2nd, 2012  AskMen.com votes Sofia Vergara hottest woman of 2012 It’s Super Bowl week, but in Baltimore there’s nothing Super about it — besides maybe the strange 65 degree weather.
The guys discuss the biggest topics going down in Indianapolis this week, make some Super Bowl prop bets, put a bow on the Ravens season and discuss playoff expansion in Major League Baseball.
You can get in touch with the BSR Podcast by sending your emails to podcast@baltimoresportsreport.com or leaving a voicemail at 443-379-4BSR (4377).
Here are some of topics discussed in this week’s show:
Super Bowl Week
- Bernard Pollard knocked Tom Brady out for an entire season, now his hit on Rob Gronkowski in the AFC Championship could could keep him out of the big game.
- Who is bigger news: Peyton Manning or Eli Manning? Will Peyton Manning ever play again and if he does with who?
Recapping The Ravens
- Steve Bisciotti promises to keep both Ray Rice and Joe Flacco
- Cam Cameron is back as the Ravens offensive coordinator. Is bringing Cam back the best move for the Ravens going forward?
- Jim Caldwell joins the Ravens coaching staff as the quarterbacks coach.
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By Zach Wilt, on February 2nd, 2012  The Ravens were one play away from playing this Sunday in Indianapolis. All Lee Evans has to do is fall down with the ball and it’s a Super Bowl 35 not a Super Bowl 42 rematch.
But Evans dropped the ball and Billy Cundiff missed a 32-yard field goal that killed the Ravens chances of sending the AFC Championship to overtime. It still stings just typing it.
Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti met with the media for his annual State of the Ravens press conference and even he acknowledged the painful loss. ”I’m not over it,” he said. ”Hold onto a ball. I mean that’s where it was this year.”
After reading the quotes and watching the press conference I’ve come to the conclusion that Bisciotti and the Ravens front office really believe that this is a championship caliber team. Bisciotti is content with this coaching staff and the talent on the field. He believes in Cam Cameron and thinks Joe Flacco will win multiple rings.
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By Zach Wilt, on January 30th, 2012  The only person more surprised than Ravens fans that Cam Cameron is back as Baltimore’s offensive coordinator is Cam Cameron.
At 11 o’clock on Friday, Baltimore let out a collective grumble both verbally and on the Twitter as John Harbaugh announced that Cameron would be returning to call the Ravens plays.
Matt Vensel of Baltimore Sun posted some interesting comments from Cam-squared after the announcement. Apparently, Cameron told “some co-workers” that he didn’t believe he’d be back as his contract was due to expire and the Ravens had yet to reach out to him to renew it.
“I called Ozzie and said, ‘Hey, I’m just thrilled to be back,’” Cameron said according to Vensel. “Ozzie said, ‘Cam, in our minds, you were never gone.’
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By BSR Staff, on January 26th, 2012  What do Heidi Klum and the Ravens have in common? What a crappy week. The Ravens gets bounced from the AFC Championship, then lose Chuck Pagano, the Orioles miss on Prince Fielder and Maryland loses to Duke.
If you need something to brighten your day, the BSR Podcast is the best we can do.
It’s not necessarily a positive spin on all the terrible news, but it should have you laughing and ignoring a terrible week in Baltimore.
You can get in touch with the BSR Podcast by sending your emails to podcast@baltimoresportsreport.com or leaving a voicemail at 443-379-4BSR (4377).
Here are some of topics discussed in this week’s show:
Breaking Down The AFC Championship
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By Zach Wilt, on January 26th, 2012  This awkward handshake says it all... Chuck Pagano may have been the only Ravens coach that I was impressed with this season. Pagano returned the Ravens defense to their roots by getting back to an aggressive style and did a fantastic job masking a weak secondary.
The special teams and offensive coordinators as well as head coach John Harbaugh could all be questioned this season, but not Pagano and his third ranked defense.
Mike Preston of The Baltimore Sun reports that Pagano’s relationship with Harbaugh was “slightly strained.” A source told Preston that that Pagano got into “a heated argument with Harbaugh in the closing minutes of the playoff game against Houston when the Ravens offense failed to run out the clock.”
The source said it would have been interesting to see how the two would have worked things out if Pagano returned to Baltimore. ”Their exchange was very heated.”
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By Matt Lund, on January 22nd, 2012  In a match-up of two teams with very contrasting styles of play, the AFC’s #2 seeded Baltimore Ravens traveled north to take on the #1 seed New England Patriots for the AFC Championship.
The Ravens played the role of spoiler before, handing the Patriots a 33-14 loss at Gillette Stadium in the 2009 wild card playoffs, but that particular match-up was different than this one.
The Patriots didn’t have a young duo of TE’s in Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. They also didn’t have Wes Welker, who was injured during the Patriots playoff run that year.
Still that did not faze the Ravens as they confused and frustrated Patriots QB Tom Brady in the game, much like they did in 2009. The Ravens defense picked off Brady twice and sacked him once.
The Ravens had an offensive and defensive game plan that on most afternoons contributes to a Ravens victory. Despite that however, it came down to the right foot of kicker Billy Cundiff to tie the game and send it to overtime when Cundiff missed a 32-yard field goal wide left giving the Patriots the 23-20 victory and an AFC Championship in front of the home crowd. READ MORE >>>
By Sadler, on January 22nd, 2012 
He wasn’t perfect but he gave his team a chance to win, and they didn’t get the job done. Enough said!
By Dave Gilmore, on January 20th, 2012  Everyone heard about Joe Flacco and Ed Reed “fight” that took place after practice yesterday. Sadly, it seems nobody else but us was willing to provide a detailed visual depiction of the altercation. We debated making a Taiwanese news-style CGI reenactment, but unfortunately we lack that technology. So, here’s a comic book I made. I hope this puts the issue to rest. Click through to see the action unfold! READ MORE >>>
By Dave Gilmore, on January 17th, 2012  A sparse chant of “let Joe throw!” echoes down from a small cadre of fans in purple camo pants sitting in the 200-level. From the same corner of M&T Bank Stadium, a season ticket holder shouts in a hoarse Dundalk pitch “let Rice run the f$#%ing ball!” Their dissonance melds into a single cacophony that breezes in the general direction of Malcolm “Cam” Cameron. The Ravens offensive coordinator hears none of this. He glances up at the game clock. 5:54 remains in the third quarter. It is Christmas Even 2011, and the Ravens have just stretched their lead over the Cleveland Browns to 20-0. Nobody seems pleased.
They say the best position to have in a football town is backup quarterback. You get to wear a baseball cap and a pair of headphones and look like you’re listening intently during timeouts. Nobody knows what you might be capable of if called in for duty. Thus, you might be the next Joe Montana. If backup QB is the most desirable job in football, offensive coordinator ranks dead last, just behind the guy responsible for washing Terrence Cody’s jock.
The play-caller is the most important decision-maker in the scope of a single football game. A non-play-calling head coach might make a crucial “go for it on 4th” decision or throw a pivotal challenge flag, but ultimately, everything that leads a team into those situations is dictated by the decisions made by the offensive coordinator. Cam Cameron made 62 decisions on that chilly Christmas Eve afternoon. Every single one of them was questioned. Maybe Cam Cameron deserves to be questioned. To a certain extent, so does every decision maker in pro sports. However, what Cameron endures publicly would make most of us crumble privately. How much of it is warranted, and how much of it is “Mobtown” simply piling on? READ MORE >>>
By Matt Lund, on January 16th, 2012 The Baltimore Ravens returned to the friendly confines of M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday afternoon, fresh off a much-needed bye week, taking on a hungry and determined Houston Texans squad primed to make it to their first ever AFC Championship Game.
The Ravens held off a Texans rushing attack, led by RB Arian Foster who carried the ball 27 times for 132 yards and a touchdown. The name of the game however was turnovers and the Ravens had four takeaways total – two in the final eight minutes of regulation- to secure the 20-13 victory over Houston in front of a loud crowd of 71,547 at “The Bank” (the largest crowd in Ravens history) and advancing to their second trip to the AFC Championship game in four years under head coach John Harbaugh.
Winning the turnover battle and time of possession were keys to victory in the game, but important because the first two turnovers, all in the 1st quarter, led to both of the Ravens touchdowns on the day. Using the bye week to prepare, the Ravens appeared focused, not committing a single penalty in the game – a first in Baltimore Ravens history – and not turning the ball over once themselves.
The Ravens will travel to Foxboro to take on the New England Patriots for the AFC Championship on Sunday, January 22nd at 3:00 pm. The last time the Ravens traveled to Gillette Stadium, they trounced the Patriots 33-14 in the 2009 AFC Wildcard Playoffs. READ MORE >>>
By Zach Wilt, on January 16th, 2012 
It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win and the Ravens are headed to New England for the AFC Championship. Though road games haven’t been their area of expertise this season (see Jacksonville) and they looked sloppy against T.J. (frickin) Yates, you have to be impressed with these 53 mighty mighty men.
Sunday’s 20-13 win against the Texans was a hard fought struggle that at one point looked like it was in complete control by the Ravens. But it ended up coming down to a Hail Mary at the end of the game that allowed Baltimore to make the trek to Foxboro to face Bill Belichick and the Pats.
Suggs versus Uggs.
Here are my thoughts on the Ravens victory of the Texans in the AFC Divisional Round.
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By BSR Staff, on January 5th, 2012  Get excited. Hot off the presses — or the FTP — it’s a fresh new episode of the BSR Podcast. Our first of 2012.
With Matt Lund off for the week and surrounded by Steelers fans (our thoughts are with him), we welcome back The Boss, Matt Sadler and an old friend, The Colonel, Jeff Pilson with Patrick Guthrie and Zach Wilt.
2012 brings TONS of news so here are some of the topic that the guys discussed on the show.
By BSR Staff, on January 4th, 2012  The BSR Podcast is set to record tonight at 9 PM EST and we want your input on some of the week’s hottest topics.
Getting in touch is simple! You can comment on this blog post, email Podcast@BaltimoreSportsReport.com or leave a voicemail at 443-379-4BSR (4377).
Here are the topics being discussed tonight:
That and much more for the BSR Podcast, released tomorrow morning. But we want your input!
By Zach Wilt, on January 3rd, 2012  I became an even bigger Terrell Suggs fan in 2011. The guy seems to be the glue that has held the defense together through Ray Lewis and Haloti Ngata’s injuries, has been wreaking havoc in backfields all season long and though sometimes he can be loud, I’ve never disagreed with his opinions.
During the Ravens road struggles this season, Suggs expressed his opinions on the Ravens offense. When Baltimore got embarrassed in Jacksonville, Suggs told the media that he was “baffled” by Cam Cameron’s play calling. “It baffles me that Ray Rice only had six carries,” he told Aaron Wilson of the Carroll County Times.
Suggs continued to show his support of Rice and the running game throughout the season and as Baltimore walked off the field in Cincinnati as the AFC North Champions, T-Sizzle again told the media that he supports the ground attack.
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Well the Ravens have their man. The team announced on Thursday afternoon that Don Martindale will be Baltimore’s new linebackers coach. Martindale replaces Dean Pees who was promoted to defensive coordinator after Chuck Pagano left to coach the Colts.
Exclusive: The Joe Flacco-Ed Reed “Fight”